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Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport



 
 
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  #21  
Old June 25th, 2011, 02:11 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Alexander Arnakis[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 29
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:42:11 +0200, Tom P wrote:

If Dan wants to rent a car at Athens airport, then let him rent a car at
Athens airport for heaven's sake.

I can't think of many things more mind-blowingly stupid than wasting
half a day dragging my luggage through the strike-ridden mysteries of
Greek public transport to get to a car rental depot somewhere on the
other side of Greece when I could just walked into a car rental office
at the airport. Not to mention doing the whole thing in reverse at the
end of the trip.

Just about everything around the Athens airport, including car
rentals, taxis, currency exchanges, and the (one) hotel, is a ripoff.
About the only reasonably-priced service is the express bus to Athens
center (less than 4 euro fare, as opposed to a minimum of 40 euro for
cab fare).

  #22  
Old June 26th, 2011, 09:04 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Mike Lane[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 223
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

tim.... wrote on Jun 24, 2011:


"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
tim.... wrote on Jun 23, 2011:


"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:46:57 +0100, "tim...."
wrote:


"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
Dan Stephenson wrote on Jun 19, 2011:

Hello, in the Fall I will travel to Greece, flying into Athens and
heading to the Pelopponese by car, for maybe 10 days.

There are several car rental places at the airport: Avis, Budget,
Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt.

Can anyone recommend one more than the rest? I wouldn't be buying
the
high-dollar collision damage waiver.

Thanks,


Wouldn't you be better off travelling to the Peloponnese by public
transport
and renting a car from there? That's what I did a few years ago. You
would
save yourself the trouble and expense of driving through Athens which
is
a
place to be avoided these days as far as possible.

I took a ferry from Piraeus to Porto Heli - a small place on the east
coast
of the Peloponnese near Spetses - and hired a car there for a week. It
was
a
very relaxed experience compared to the hassle of Athens.

Athens airport to the Peloponnese is 100% motorway.

The only time you'll have to stop is to pay the toll

Why waste time driving and paying per kilometre, if you can start from
a more convenient place?

As the options for this more convenient place a

1)Taking the bus to the Peloponnese presumably from Athens bus station.
Any
idea where that is? I'll wager it isn't very convenient
2) Flying to Kalamata. Hm, I wonder how many flights a day that gets
from
London/New York or wherever it is that the OP is starting.

They don't seem very convenient to me.

It's a 100 km drive, how hard can it be?

Or:
3) Bus to Piraeus (leaves from airport outside arrivals), then100 metre
walk
to ferry gets you to Ermioni, or Porto Heli in the Peloponnese.

I know which I would rather do.


But the guy is still going to be hiring the car (presumably) to go touring.
Why **** around lugging your bags on/off a ferry to save a 100km (one hour)
drive?

And what happens if when he get to Piraeus the next ferry is full?


I've travelled around the Greek islands a lot over the years as a foot
passenger and I've never even once once found a ferry 'full'.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

  #23  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:17 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-23 02:54:25 -0500, Mike Lane said:

Dan Stephenson wrote on Jun 19, 2011:

Hello, in the Fall I will travel to Greece, flying into Athens and
heading to the Pelopponese by car, for maybe 10 days.

There are several car rental places at the airport: Avis, Budget,
Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt.

Can anyone recommend one more than the rest? I wouldn't be buying the
high-dollar collision damage waiver.

Thanks,


Wouldn't you be better off travelling to the Peloponnese by public transport
and renting a car from there? That's what I did a few years ago. You would
save yourself the trouble and expense of driving through Athens which is a
place to be avoided these days as far as possible.


Well, the rental would not be from Athens per se, but from the airport,
which is outside the city and near the big motor. I would avoid Athens
by circuiting it on the motorway, over to Corinth, then south to Argos.


I took a ferry from Piraeus to Porto Heli - a small place on the east coast
of the Peloponnese near Spetses - and hired a car there for a week. It was a
very relaxed experience compared to the hassle of Athens.


I will have to look into this, thanks for the tip. I would also like
to avoid the hassle of getting to and from Pieraeus from the airport,
but the ferry time might be competitive with the drive time.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #24  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:20 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-23 06:23:04 -0500, Martin said:

On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:46:57 +0100, "tim...."
wrote:


"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
Dan Stephenson wrote on Jun 19, 2011:

Hello, in the Fall I will travel to Greece, flying into Athens and
heading to the Pelopponese by car, for maybe 10 days.

There are several car rental places at the airport: Avis, Budget,
Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt.

Can anyone recommend one more than the rest? I wouldn't be buying the
high-dollar collision damage waiver.

Thanks,


Wouldn't you be better off travelling to the Peloponnese by public
transport
and renting a car from there? That's what I did a few years ago. You would
save yourself the trouble and expense of driving through Athens which is a
place to be avoided these days as far as possible.

I took a ferry from Piraeus to Porto Heli - a small place on the east
coast
of the Peloponnese near Spetses - and hired a car there for a week. It was
a
very relaxed experience compared to the hassle of Athens.


Athens airport to the Peloponnese is 100% motorway.

The only time you'll have to stop is to pay the toll


Why waste time driving and paying per kilometre, if you can start from
a more convenient place?
In the 1980s I had very poor experiences renting from Hertz in Greece.
Avis service and cars were much better. Maybe things have improved.


Ah now that's a good tip, thanks. I will also research the flight into
Kalamata. The drive over from Kalamata is very long and tedious, but,
the scenery through the Taygetus mountains is just amazing.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #25  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:34 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-23 12:32:57 -0500, tim.... said:

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:46:57 +0100, "tim...."
wrote:


"Mike Lane" wrote in message
dia.com...
Dan Stephenson wrote on Jun 19, 2011:

Hello, in the Fall I will travel to Greece, flying into Athens and
heading to the Pelopponese by car, for maybe 10 days.

There are several car rental places at the airport: Avis, Budget,
Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt.

Can anyone recommend one more than the rest? I wouldn't be buying the
high-dollar collision damage waiver.

Thanks,


Wouldn't you be better off travelling to the Peloponnese by public
transport
and renting a car from there? That's what I did a few years ago. You would
save yourself the trouble and expense of driving through Athens which is a
place to be avoided these days as far as possible.

I took a ferry from Piraeus to Porto Heli - a small place on the east
coast
of the Peloponnese near Spetses - and hired a car there for a week. It was
a
very relaxed experience compared to the hassle of Athens.

Athens airport to the Peloponnese is 100% motorway.

The only time you'll have to stop is to pay the toll


Why waste time driving and paying per kilometre, if you can start from
a more convenient place?


As the options for this more convenient place a

1)Taking the bus to the Peloponnese presumably from Athens bus station.
Any idea where that is? I'll wager it isn't very convenient


It's this huge affair right in the middle of tear-gassy Athens. No
thanks! ha ha

2) Flying to Kalamata. Hm, I wonder how many flights a day that gets
from London/New York or wherever it is that the OP is starting.


Well, that would be a small flight from Athens. I understood this to
be what was meant. I think the logistics to hook up flight times will
make this option infeasible, but I hadn't thought of it. And I know a
hotel I trust in Kalamata, the Elite City Hotel. I am gotten
super-picky with age and this one checked out alright with me. Also,
for those wondering: Panorama Hotel in Monemvasia, the Kalamaki Beach
Hotel south of Corinth, Olympic Village S.A. above ancient Olympia, and
a sufficient place on the right side of the road from the Athenian tomb
mound to the shore, at Marathon Beach.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.11....panoramio.all



They

don't seem very convenient to me.

It's a 100 km drive, how hard can it be?

tim



--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #26  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:40 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-24 05:35:00 -0500, tim.... said:

Peloponnese. he's going to be there for 10 days, so he's going to be
covering all of it. If he starts off in the south west he's still
going to have to drive to the bit in the NE


Laconia, actually. I drove all over the Peloponnese back in 2009; this
is a revisit to Monemvasia with a base at a nice hotel on the mainland
(Panorama Hotel). I want to revisit the ruins at Monemvasia - there is
a lot more to see than I did. I want to see where I can go around the
outside of the massif. I want to see how the Knights of St. John tried
to ascend on the northwestern side. I want to see if there are traces
of the ancient site of Minos that Pausanias mentioned in his
Description of Greece. There are are at last two other ancient sites
nearby, Epidaurus Limera and Zarax. Plus just relaxing. My vacations
have always been far more active than my normal daily life, but the
area around Monemvasia is just .. so .. relaxing... I would park a
ways to the south, near the rocky shore, roll down the windows and pull
back the sunroof, and lean back the car seat back... and relax to the
sound of the waves and scent of the ocean... very nice.
--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #27  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:45 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default London Thames waterline sights Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-24 16:39:16 -0500, Martin said:


ATM skyscanner is showing flights from London to Kalamata


Again you assume somebody is flying from London.


Actually I will travel through London, as I intend to spend a few days
there, to visit the British Museum again, and to visit more
out-of-the-way places. I hear the Mayor is going to create a tourist
scheme where you can visit along the Thames waterline to see some
historical sights that have been blocked off from normal access.
Anyone know more about this?

But on the original suggestion: going through Athens has cost and
logistical advantages.... I will into Kalamata, indeed, but the hardest
part of the driving is about the same, since until Tripoli the driving
is super-easy on the motorway. I don't suppose anybody knows if the
bypass is finished yet?
--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #28  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:46 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
tim....
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 398
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport


"Dan Stephenson" wrote in message
news:2011070312175065200-stephedanospam@maccom...
On 2011-06-23 02:54:25 -0500, Mike Lane said:

Dan Stephenson wrote on Jun 19, 2011:

Hello, in the Fall I will travel to Greece, flying into Athens and
heading to the Pelopponese by car, for maybe 10 days.

There are several car rental places at the airport: Avis, Budget,
Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt.

Can anyone recommend one more than the rest? I wouldn't be buying the
high-dollar collision damage waiver.

Thanks,


Wouldn't you be better off travelling to the Peloponnese by public
transport
and renting a car from there? That's what I did a few years ago. You
would
save yourself the trouble and expense of driving through Athens which is
a
place to be avoided these days as far as possible.


Well, the rental would not be from Athens per se, but from the airport,
which is outside the city and near the big motor. I would avoid Athens by
circuiting it on the motorway, over to Corinth, then south to Argos.


I took a ferry from Piraeus to Porto Heli - a small place on the east
coast
of the Peloponnese near Spetses - and hired a car there for a week. It
was a
very relaxed experience compared to the hassle of Athens.


I will have to look into this, thanks for the tip. I would also like to
avoid the hassle of getting to and from Pieraeus from the airport, but the
ferry time might be competitive with the drive time.


Don't see how it can be.

The drive to Argos is going to be a little over an hour. It will take you
this long to get to Piraeus on the bus

tim


  #29  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:46 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-24 05:45:51 -0500, tim.... said:

Or:
3) Bus to Piraeus (leaves from airport outside arrivals), then100 metre walk
to ferry gets you to Ermioni, or Porto Heli in the Peloponnese.

I know which I would rather do.


But the guy is still going to be hiring the car (presumably) to go
touring. Why **** around lugging your bags on/off a ferry to save a
100km (one hour) drive?

And what happens if when he get to Piraeus the next ferry is full?

tim


FWIW I am also averse to ferries and Screaming Children Hell. Those
who have used ferries know exactly what I mean!
--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #30  
Old July 3rd, 2011, 06:49 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 591
Default Recommendations for car rental from Athens Airport

On 2011-06-24 16:44:28 -0500, Martin said:

But the guy is still going to be hiring the car (presumably) to go
touring.

You have no basis for assuming that.

Other than his previous post on the subject perhaps


which said?


It didn't mention touring.


OK OK, guys: simmer. Just because this is Usenet doesn't mean we are
required to get testy. I have been very occupied of late, so I'm just
now getting back to reading posts.

I appreciate all the advice, too, the more the better. I
outside-considered a ferry, but never a flight. Now I'll research
these places.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://web.mac.com/stepheda
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

 




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